Ridgecrest Substation has new sergeant

Friday

Jan 4, 2013 at 1:25 PMJan 4, 2013 at 1:29 PM

Kern County Sheriff’s Sgt. Paul Leonard took over the Ridgecrest Substation, replacing Mike Scott who was promoted to lieutenant.Leonard previously worked as a Metro Patrol senior deputy and was promoted to his current rank Dec. 1 after three years as senior deputy.

By John V. Cianijciani@ridgecrestca.com

“I chose to come out here,” he said. “This was my first choice to come to Ridgecrest.”He said his leadership style is to make sure KCSO personnel enjoy their jobs and are safe.“I really enjoy my job. I’ve enjoyed it for my entire career,” Leonard said. “I want to make sure the guys are enjoying it and doing it the right way and being safe.”He said he is also trained in off-road vehicles.“I’ve got off-road vehicles myself, and we had a deployment over New Years,” he said.Leonard said he brings a lot of skill in criminal investigation in areas such as burglary and sexual assault to his new position.“I bring a lot of experience from the different areas I’ve worked,” he said.Leonard describes the substation’s patrol area as massive.“There’s some areas out there that I haven’t gotten to see yet,” he said. “I’m trying to get out to all the different areas.”He is a 14-year law-enforcement veteran, all with the Kern County Sheriff’s office.Leonard was born and raised in Kern County. He graduated from Arvin High School and attended Bakersfield College.“I became a welder for four years and decided I wanted to go into law enforcement,” he said.He entered the Kern County Sheriff’s Academy in 1998 and graduated in 1999.Leonard said the department is hiring and are paying candidates to attend the academy.He said he wants to keep the substation running smoothly.“Mike Scott left this place running like a smooth machine,” Leonard said. “I just want to keep that smooth machine going. I want to see these guys succeed. My door is an open-door policy. If somebody in the community has a concern, or there is something going on that we need to know about, they can come in and talk to me anytime.”